The origin of this was not passed on to me, so
I don't know the source. Yet, I must say, if truly from a Canadian, I
could not agree more. Just an "Amen" to it. Sandy
This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most
generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.
Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the
debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave
other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the
interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When the Franc was
in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and
their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I
was there. I saw it. When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it
is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American
communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into
discouraged countries. Now, newspapers in those countries are writing
about the decadent, warmongering Americans. I'd like to see just one of
those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States Dollar
build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane
to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar, or the Douglas L10?
If so ... why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines,
except Russia, fly American Planes? Why does no other land on earth even
consider putting a man or woman on the moon?
You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about
German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American
technocracy, and you find men on the moon - - not once, but several times-and
safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs
right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their
draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets
(Canada), and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting
American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age,
it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and
the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both
are still broke. I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the
help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when
someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was
outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbors have
faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get
kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high.
And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are
gloating over their present troubles.
I hope Canada is not one of those.